ubuntu-hams team mailing list archive

[Bob Nielsen <n7xy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Apr 3, 2012, at 7:07 PM, Nate Bargmann wrote:

> * On 2012 03 Apr 16:25 -0500, Jeff Lane wrote:
>> I know this comes up from time to time, and I also know the answers
>> can be defended/argued as strongly as vi v emacs ;-) but I thought
>> I'd ask you guys what the cool kids are using for logging these
>> days.
> 
> For general logging, I think CQRlog wins hands down.
> 
>> I've played with various logging programs over the years, none of
>> which I've ever stayed with, mostly for one big reason... no way to
>> easily store or sync the log data online somewhere.  Which means if
>> I use a program on one laptop, that means it's yet another piece of
>> data I have to remember to sync between systems.
> 
> I do my logging on my main machine.  If I were to do any on a laptop I
> would probably export it as ADIF and import that into the main database.
> 
> With the Spideroak backup that I use, it's probably possible to sync
> between machines, but that is a very low priority for me so I haven't
> investigated it.
> 
>> So I was hoping to get an idea of what good general purpose logging
>> programs are popular right now. I don't do a lot of contesting, so I
>> don't need that kind of horsepower, but something good for general
>> purpose logging.
> 
> CQRlog does considerably more than I use it for.  Admittedly, it is the
> first logging program I ever became serious about using so I don't have
> preconceived notions about what/how it should do things.
> 
>> Hopefully something that will sync on the fly or on demand with
>> something online (looking at LOTW, I've never used it before but
>> maybe that's the solution I'm looking for, even though their
>> software doesn't appear to be linux friendly).
> 
> LoTW, despite its name, is NOT a logging system/program.  It is an
> electronic QSL system for certain ARRL and now CQ WPX awards.  That's
> it.  It retains far too little data for me to consider it to be any sort
> of backup for my main log.  I think the same of eQSL.
> 
>> I do most of my logging still with pen and paper because I've never
>> found a logging program that wow'ed me enough to stick with.  I even
>> started writing my own at one point that was going to sync with a
>> SQL database hosted along with one of my websites, or at the very
>> least sync its data to one of my websites for backup purposes. But I
>> got lazy and abandoned that because pen and paper still work well.
> 
> I was at that point until last fall and committed my paper logs to
> CQRlog and uploaded the entire works to LoTW and eQSL.  Since then
> CQRlog has made it painless to update each site with new log data.
> 
> What I don't do is import any contest log data into CQRlog although it
> is uploaded to LoTW and eQSL separately.
> 
> With my log data now in CQRlog and backed up offsite with Spideroak, my
> log data is now recoverable after a catistrophic event than when it was
> on paper.
> 
>> It would be nice to have something that could do QSL lookups on the
>> fly but that's not necessarily required as I may or may not have
>> internet connectivity when operating (portable, QRP, etc)
> 
> Once a call is entered in the Call field, CQRlog does a search and shows
> any previous QSOs in its database that match the call once <Space> or
> <Tab> is pressed.  QSL received and sent are among the available fields
> shown.
> 
>> Anyway, it just occurred to me to ask that old familiar question as
>> I sat here working today with the HF rig on behind me.  I've stopped
>> and made a few contacts today, including an IOTA and a SOTA station
>> on 20m and realized that sometimes my logs consist of scraps of
>> paper that were handy when I needed something to write on :/
> 
> Back in 2000 I worked the FO0AAA expedition but when I entered my log
> data last year I nearly panicked when I didn't find it in my logbook.  I web
> search showed that the expedition has an online log and a search of my
> call showed that we had worked, but I had none of the particulars.  I
> was bummed until I decided to look in the notebook that I used mobile
> back then, and still use (not much HF mobile in between time).  I found
> the QSO logged for date, time, and frequency and entered it.  I uploaded
> it to LoTW and received the confirmation!  Don't throw those scraps away
> until a card is received or it's confirmed via LoTW or other award
> tracking method.
> 
> If you want to try CQRlog, you'll probably be better served installing
> the 1.3.1 .deb from its home page:
> 
> http://www.cqrlog.com
> 
> as the latest version is not yet able to be packaged by Kamal for
> Debian/Ubuntu as I understand it.
> 
> 73, de Nate >>

There is a PPA for cqrlog:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ok2cqr/ppa

I'll give it a try when I get my station re-assembled (hopefully in the next few weeks).  In the past I used TLF for both contest and general logging but it is time to move on.

73, Bob N7XY

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